Cool it Art Kids - Free Art Classes

I'm Amanda - a Community Artist living & working in Lambeth - I'm also the founder of Cool it Art, an innovative Community Arts Organisation. We provide free Art activities for communities in London & the South and free digital teaching packs used worldwide. We need your help to support our 10th Annual programme of Cool it Art Kids based in Vauxhall.

Due to the budget cuts, in the current economic climate, we have been unable to secure the funding needed to deliver another annual programme from September 2022 - August 2023; the future of the classes is in peril. Your donation will help us to continue the community impact and engagement achieved over the last 9 years; for the benefit of inner-city London kids and their families. In times of increasing financial hardship in a post-pandemic world, the need for classes such as these for children's mental health is of the utmost importance!

The 9th Annual programme, which has just ended, had 1,638 attendances over the 44 classes and 3 trips from Sept 2021 to August 2022. The classes are a well-loved and well-attended community asset that benefits up to 50 attendees per class - we must find a way to continue them!

What is Cool it Art?

Cool it Art is a Social Enterprise set up in 2013 to provide free creative opportunities, predominantly in Lambeth. Cool it Art Kids is the longest running of the 110 art projects delivered to date (9 programmes so far) - it provides free art classes for 3-12 year olds and their families.

Since starting the Cool it Art Kids programme in Vauxhall in 2013, we have run 407 sessions and 9 trips with a total of 10,449 attendances overall, working with 117 volunteers (4 of whom were youth volunteers via HeadStart) over 9 years. The continued high attendance over the programmes shows the need for projects like ours to benefit the diverse families in the local community and across Lambeth.

Creativity is our economy's most valuable resource. Cool it Art's purpose is to harness this for every child, every family, no matter how challenging the circumstances.

We provide 38 x 1-hour after-school classes, 6 x 2-hour holiday sessions, and 3 x full-day trips to cultural venues (museums/galleries) during the Summer holidays to enrich children's Summer break. Cool it Art also creates free step-by-step teaching packs of the Art Sessions to be used at home - schools heavily utilised these during the pandemic to keep their students engaged and creative during unprecedented times, just under 11,000 views since the first lockdown.

The need?

These free classes are run from the Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre (VGCC) in the heart of Vauxhall Gardens Estate; an estate flagged as "disadvantaged" from research conducted by Well London. The classes give children and parents access to creativity, enhance their well-being, nurture their development (self-confidence, problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, teamwork/collaborative skills etc.) and promote community cohesion.

Finance - how much does it cost, and where will the money go?

The total cost of the programme is £15,524 to support a 47-week project, comprising a shared 784 hours of artists & volunteers working on the sessions, summer trips, research & development, admin and evaluation that will benefit up to 50 children and family members per session; this is split as follows:

Art Facilitators - £6,580

Volunteers - £1,244

Summer Trips - £720

Teaching Packs (Research & Development) - £5,080

Art Materials to be match funded by GreatArt - £800

Admin & Evaluation - £1,100

Please help us to be able to continue to deliver these classes for the 10th year!

What do the families say about the project?

“Before Cool It Art, It was not cool and easy to find an art class for our daughter after school; she really looks forward to Tuesday after school where she can spend time with her friends creating their cool arts. The class has given our daughter the opportunity to develop her social and artistic skills. Thank you so much for your dedicated cool work.” - Tuan & Theresa

“Cool it Art do amazing things. They offer a safe, inclusive and creative space to explore art and different ways of creating things for children, as well as their accompanying adult. We have enjoyed their sessions as a family and would highly recommend them to anyone” - Claire, Noa & Billie

“My daughter Ella 10 years old, has attended Cool it Art Classes since the age of 7. Every week she looks forward to her class, first thing when I pick her up from school is “what is the topic today?” and she starts getting excited with her friends. This is HER moment where she can be herself, be allowed to express whatever feelings are important to her in a safe space and without judgment or pressure. The structure and subjects of the classes are extremely impactful for cultural knowledge and most of the children attending would never get these experiences; especially for free and not from other community arts organisations. Cool it Art classes were vital for many of the children during lockdown keeping the fun and engagement; we are all extremely grateful to Amanda and the team!” Emanuela & Ella

“Cool it Art classes have been a true godsend for me and my family in these hard times. I attended every single session over the last year with my three children (including a baby!) and now have even got my mother-in-law to join in too. We've been through a lot of changes recently, with the pandemics, lockdowns, job uncertainty, etc - all of these impacting on kids - while Cool it Art sessions really brought out the creativity in them, and made the entire family happier. A big thank you to the lovely team, and looking forward to more!” Victoria, Alisa, Kira & Valeria

“My children and I have been attending Amanda's art classes on a weekly basis. The children's class is always full with young and enthusiastic artists. Every week it's different theme they work on while using various materials. The atmosphere is brilliant and it's wonderful to see the children creating artwork and using their imagination. I also attend Amanda's art class for adults, and I have gained so much confidence in drawing and painting since I joined. We all feel so welcomed, and we get on really well; it's a place of relaxation. We also work on different themes using various tools, materials and techniques. We have all learnt so much about art and also, we had our artwork displayed in an exhibition which was an absolute honour. Each week we all really looking forward to the next art class and are so grateful and committed to be part of this fantastic project.” Kinga, Pema & Tyson

“My daughter Olanma and I love coming to Cool it Art class every Tuesday! In fact my daughter looks forward to it so much that I often use it as a bargaining tool to get her to do her homework and tidy up... works every time! Thank you guys for the amazing work you are doing.” Nneka & Olanma

“My daughter Sapphire has been attending Cool it art since July 2019. she has had an amazing time. She’s always looking forward to going to Cool it Art every Tuesday. These art activities have helped her social and emotional development. It has helped her learn more about herself and others and also helped her to build her self-esteem. I can only commend Amanda, and her team for their love and support towards the children and a big thank you to Lambeth (council) for taking the initiative to empower our children.” Mo & Sapphire

"These are very important classes for my daughter because she likes to express herself creatively. In addition to developing her interests in all kinds of crafts techniques, she made new friendships. There is a very nice atmosphere there, we have always known that on Tuesday there will be art classes after school. It has become our routine, and we cannot imagine what it would be like without these classes.” Joanna & Margaret

“My children have been attending Cool it Art classes since the age of 2 & 5 years old [now 9 & 11]. Every week my daughter Heyab enjoys her creativity each week and interacting with other kids. The class has given our kids the opportunity to develop their skills and social & creative. Amanda, thank you so much for your hard work. God bless you!!” - Makdes, Matty & Heyab

Thank you for taking the time to read about Cool it Art; please take the next step and give what you can to keep this vital service going!